STOCKMED Deliverable 01. Guidelines of the approach and methods to identify fish stock units in the Mediterranean

In the present document, the rationale and the guidelines of a novel framework, the STOCKMED framework, to identify stock units of target species in the Mediterranean is presented. The review of updated literature showed the scarcity of consolidated methods based on rigorous formal approach to identify stock units and their geographical boundaries by multidisciplinary analyses. The challenging objective of the STOCKMED framework is to fill this gap by developing a formal methodological approach for integrating heterogeneous data sources from different disciplines into a holistic perspective on stock units. The STOCKMED framework is based on available scientific data and published literature and its strength relies on the explicit spatial formulation and incorporation of experts' judgment. In the framework, the entire process of stock unit identification develops in different phases and is implemented through an original coupling of GIS-spatial analysis and MCA techniques. The two techniques provide, when integrated, the methods to deal with large sets of multidisciplinary spatial information in a process able to reconcile in an objective manner multiple perceptions of stock units which may be conflicting.